Comparison

Standard Notes vs Logseq

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Standard Notes

Securely capture and sync your thoughts across all devices with end-to-end encryption. This app offers a simple, lasting place for all your notes, from personal thoughts to sensitive information, with robust privacy features.

Highlights
  • End-to-end encryption
  • Cross-device syncing
  • Offline access
  • Passcode and biometric lock
  • Tagging system
  • Open-source code
  • Optional productivity editors and themes
Features
Read full description

Standard Notes is a private and secure end-to-end encrypted notes app. It allows you to write and sync your notes across all your devices, including your iPhone, iPad, Mac, and web browser. Private means your notes are end-to-end encrypted, so only you can read your notes. Even we can't read the contents of your notes. Simple means it does one job and does it well. Standard Notes is a safe and lasting place for your life's work. Our focus is making it easy to write notes wherever you are and syncing them with encryption to all your devices. Our users love us for: • Personal Notes • Tasks & Todos • Passwords & Keys • Code & Technical Procedures • Private Journal • Meeting Notes • Cross-platform Scratchpad • Books, Recipes, & Movies • Health & Fitness Log Standard Notes comes free with: • Seamless sync across all your devices, with easy to use applications on iPhone, iPad, Mac, web browsers, and other platforms. • Offline access, so you can access your downloaded notes even without a connection. • No limit on number of devices. • No limit on number of notes. • Passcode lock protection, along with Touch ID and Face ID protection. • A tagging system to organize your notes (like #work, #ideas, #passwords, #crypto). • The ability to pin, lock, protect, and move notes to trash, which allows you to recover deleted notes until the trash is emptied. Standard Notes is completely open-source, which means when we say your notes are encrypted with industry-leading XChaCha-20 encryption, and that only you can read your notes, you don't have to take our word for it. Our code is open to the world to audit. We made Standard Notes simple because longevity is important to us. We want to make sure we're here, protecting your notes, for the next hundred years. You shouldn't have to find a new notes app every year. To sustain our development, we offer optional paid subscriptions which give you access to powerful tools like: • Productivity editors (like Markdown, Code, Spreadsheets) • Beautiful themes (like Midnight, Focus, Solarized Dark) • Powerful cloud tools including daily backups of your encrypted data delivered to your email inbox every day, or backed up to your cloud provider (like Dropbox and Google Drive). We're always happy to talk, whether it be a question, thought, or issue. Please feel free to email us any time at help@standardnotes.com. When you take the time to send us a message, we'll be sure to do the same. EULA: https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Logseq

This open-source outliner helps you write, organize, and share your thoughts using local Markdown and Org-mode files. Manage tasks, build a digital garden, and integrate with various services for enhanced productivity.

Highlights
  • Backlinks
  • Knowledge Graph
  • Page and block references
  • Tasks & Todos
  • SRS Cards
  • Zotero integration
  • Audio recorder
Read full description

Logseq is a joyful, open-source outliner that works on top of local plain-text Markdown and Org-mode files. Use it to write, organize and share your thoughts, keep your to-do list, and build your own digital garden. Logseq includes the following features: 1. Backlink 2. Knowledge Graph 3. Page and block references 4. Page and block embeds 5. Tasks & Todos 6. SRS Cards 7. Zotero integration 8. Youtube, Twitter, etc. integration 9. Audio recorder 10. Powerful queries 11. Whiteboards

Screenshots

Standard Notes4 screens
Logseq4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Logseq at none against Standard Notes's 1. Standard Notes's advantage is rating (4.7 vs 4.4) and ratings volume (3.7K vs 252). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Standard Notes sells 1 in-app purchase, starting at $119.99 per year. Logseq asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Standard Notes holds the better App Store score, 4.7 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Standard Notes has 3.7K ratings behind it against 252, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 64% of Standard Notes's written reviews are positive against 59% of Logseq's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Standard Notes ships an update every 5 weeks, Logseq every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 9, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Standard Notes versus Logseq: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterStandard NotesLogseq
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (3.7K ratings) — better4.4 (252 ratings)
Positive reviews64.0% of reviews — better58.7% of reviews
Number of ratings3.7K — better252
Update frequencyEvery 5 weeksEvery 3 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.114.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size92 MB62 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperStandard Notes Ltd.Logseq Inc.

Customer experience

Standard Notes

All ratings3,735 ratings
Positive92.4%
Neutral2.2%
Negative5.3%
Written reviews592 reviews
Positive64.0%
Neutral10.5%
Negative25.5%

Logseq

All ratings252 ratings
Positive83.7%
Neutral6.7%
Negative9.5%
Written reviews184 reviews
Positive58.7%
Neutral14.7%
Negative26.6%

User reviews

Standard Notes

From 3.7K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Fast and reliable sync
  • 🔒 Excellent privacy and security
  • 👍 Simple and intuitive interface
  • 📚 Great for organizing notes
  • 💻 Cross-platform availability

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional bugs and crashes
  • 🔑 Frustrating login/authentication issues
  • 💰 Expensive premium subscription
  • 📱 Limited features in free version
  • 🖍️ Lack of formatting options

Logseq

From 252 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 🚀 Powerful note-taking features
  • 👍 Intuitive interface
  • 🔒 Local data storage
  • 💡 Unique folderless structure
  • 🚀 Efficient for daily note-taking

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Sync issues and data loss
  • 🔍 Confusing mobile navigation
  • 🔍 Lack of plugin support on mobile
  • 🔍 Sluggish performance on older devices
  • 🔍 Limited sync options (only iCloud)

Bugs and requests

Standard Notes

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Notes disappearing or getting deleted unexpectedly
  • Sync issues between devices
  • Keyboard and UI bugs on mobile
  • Compatibility problems with older iOS versions

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add support for images and attachments
  • Implement a more robust search function
  • Introduce a dark mode option
  • Allow for better note organization (folders, nested tags)
  • Add undo/redo functionality

Logseq

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Sync issues leading to data loss
  • Inconsistent behavior when creating new blocks
  • Cursor jumping issues when editing text
  • Disappearing UI elements on mobile

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add support for other cloud storage options (Dropbox, Google Drive, etc.)
  • Improve mobile UI and UX for better usability
  • Implement plugin support on mobile
  • Optimize performance for older devices

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Standard Notes

Subscriptions1
  • Professional Plan7 Days trial$119.991 Year
None

Logseq

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Standard Notes free?
Standard Notes is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Logseq free?
Logseq is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Standard Notes or Logseq?
Standard Notes is rated higher. Standard Notes averages 4.7 out of 5 from 3.7K ratings, while Logseq averages 4.4 from 252 ratings.
Do Standard Notes or Logseq have ads?
Neither Standard Notes nor Logseq shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Standard Notes or Logseq?
Standard Notes ships an update every 5 weeks, and Logseq every 3 weeks. Most recently, Standard Notes was updated on October 9, 2026 and Logseq on October 7, 2026.

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